You don't need to be a mathematician to examine if algebra is important. School leaders come from a variety of the disciplines taught in classrooms. We, ourselves, are from the social studies and special education backgrounds in which we began as teachers. But it doesn't take an expert in mathematics to understand the educational value of algebra in high school. And it doesn't take an expert in policy to understand that the arguments for eliminating algebra as a required subject is an…

How much do educators know and understand about creating graduates who are career ready? What are the skills and knowledge students need for a career over the next forty years? Are our minds full of traditional careers and not thinking about the careers that today's students will be entering? The issue of career ready is one that applies to all students. College is not an end in itself ... at least for most of us. Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce reports…

Higher standards and expectations are expected to facilitate the preparation for college and career.  As educators, we are familiar with what being prepared for college means. Students have to be prepared as skilled readers and writers, adept at mathematical thinking, able to function in an environment that expects them to be independently responsible for their learning, and have a level of maturity that supports the decisions they are asked to make. Students have to know how to live…

As educators most of our actions and observations are based on words. We communicate with them and focus on what we believe they mean and represent. Words can mean different things to different people in different situations. Words matter. The actions that accompany those words matter also. Beginning with the manner in which students are greeted at the door as they enter schools, we impact the state of mind they will bring to their learning. Some students are met with metal detectors…

No words can express the need for models for minority children better than those of SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor:

"When a young person, even a gifted one, grows up without proximate living examples of what she may aspire to become---whether lawyer, scientist, artist, or leader in any realm - her goal remains abstract.  Such models appear in books or on the news, however inspiring or revered, are ultimately too remote to be real, let alone influential. But a role model in the…

One of my earliest school memories is from the third grade. I call it 'The Kickball Incident' and I still remember it like it was yesterday, not the seven years ago it really was.

I have an autism spectrum disorder (at the time my diagnosis was Asperger syndrome). One of the things I have trouble with is understanding things when there's no logical explanation given or when someone repeats themselves instead of trying to explain in a different way.…

This fall, two remarkable young men, seniors at Fondy, approached Mr. Scottberg, the assistant principal charged with the role of scheduling that hour.  The students, Isaiah Zubke and Kevin Wuest identified some of the difficulties with our current scheduling program, including the ability for students to "override" the program.  Isaiah and Kevin came with a solution-focused perspective.  As young entrepreneurs, Isaiah and Kevin Co-founded Rebentify Technologies and offered their…

Public education is a wonder. We have managed through federal and local funds to provide a free education to the children in our nation.  It is an expectation that a student will be educated, free of charge, no matter where they live, no matter their income. But, how do schools meet the needs of all students when they are structured so all students fit as fully as possible into one single design? How do schools manage to reach the invisible children when they are built to address the…

Have you noticed you stop reading articles before coming to the end? Or that professional development books have fewer pages?  Has attention span been affected by Email and Twitter? Many notice these changes in their own behavior and the behavior of the learners in their classrooms. This attention reduction changes the way information is obtained and will ultimately affect the manner in which teaching and learning takes place.  …

In a surprise ruling this week, Judge Lawrence Moniz found that 17-year-old Michelle Carter's words were the contributing cause of Conrad Roy III's suicide. She was found guilty of manslaughter in what was called a "texting suicide" case. This is a story of young lives: one lost and one ruined and two families left with lifetimes of sorrow. The actions of Mr. Roy, following the directions of his girlfriend, raises questions about his story. And hers. And the ongoing state of the mental…

In a recent conversation with a parent who is sending her only child to kindergarten, we heard her concerns about the school district in which she lives. Although including a small middle class neighborhood, over 80% of the district's student population are on free and reduced lunch, a key indicator of poverty. For several months this young mother tried to make an appointment to visit the school but she received no follow up with an appointment time.  Finally, on kindergarten…

The addition of highly trained STEM teachers and paying them, as well as all teachers, for work they do is a good direction.  But, without a fundamental structural change that supports a new way of teaching and learning, we will continue to get nearly the same results. Without the partnerships of business, community organizations, and higher education, we cannot leverage the change fully. Without architects who understand that STEM/STEAM learning labs must allow for flexible structure…

Peer feedback benefits the one giving and the one receiving feedback. Here guest blogger Ruth Ebenstein shares another story about learning as it takes place in a Hebrew Day School in Ann Arbor. No matter whether in public, private, or religious settings...how successful teaching and learning takes place can serve as a model and as a reminder.  We wonder if more students were taught how to give and receive feedback and found it empowering and helpful, if as adults feedback would be sought…

A few months back GE released an ad campaign featuring physicist Millie Dresselhaus. The 86 year old has been cast into stardom as the company announced its commitment to have 20,000 women employed in STEM positions by 2020. And, essentially, that's the dual purpose of the ad, not just to announce the program but to raise the question about whether female scientists can achieve celebrity status. Pair that with Rush Limbaugh's recent rant about his disdain for acknowledging women…

In DeVos' model, parents should be able to choose if a child attending a 'failing' school can allow the child to attend a religious school or a private school. But what if the parent has a gender questioning child or a developmentally challenged child and the schools available either reject them or do not serve them because they don't have to. This is not a new issue but it is still a problematic one. Choice for all children really belongs only to some.   …

Guest blogger J.M. Myers, M.D. writes:

How ironic that during this month, May, Mental Health Month, we have seen videos of torture, murder, rape, and threats widely distributed on social media. In fact, these Internet sites had previously publicized that they wanted live action.

All this though represents only the most extreme actions of a few who have posted this material. I would maintain that day to day less publicized but very insidious cybermedia postings have introduced…

In the frenzy of the day, with a 'the buck stops here' attitude, leaders can be caught in the 'solutions trap'.  There is graffiti in a bathroom so lock the bathroom. There are students who leave the building during the day so lock the doors preventing them from re-entering without being found out. There are too many students arriving late to class so place more adults in the hall to hurry the students along. There are growing numbers of students being disrespectful so write a new code…

May is mental health month.There is an intersection of mental health for children with their experience in the educational system.  Now it would be easy enough to explore the issues for the 14% of children who have definable mental health diagnoses and are significantly symptomatic. Their school function is impacted at the cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral levels. However, I thought we might turn to educational changes that have massively impacted the mental health of…

Now is a good time to think about how people are addressed and included when decisions are being made. How many decisions are made that leave dissenters behind? Think it takes too much time and energy to pay attention to those who are not supportive of you or your decisions?  How much time does it take to deal with the aftermath when their dissatisfaction translates into behaviors?  In a faculty when a change is made and not everyone was on board, doesn't it take time and energy to…

There are common advantages to having a leader who has been in a district for decades and bringing in someone new. There are common challenges as well. Why might some districts hold on to their leaders for the long run and others feel the need to reach out to new ones with regularity?  Do causes lie within the leader or the district or the board?…